The present invention generally relates to a storage management method in a computer system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a technology for managing an input/output path from a computer to a storage apparatus.
The SAN (Storage Area Network) is widely known as a technology for utilizing a storage apparatus to which a server computer is coupled by a network as a data storage area. An access between a server computer and a storage apparatus can be implemented by coupling a host bus adapter (HBA: Host Bus Adapter) included in a computer and a channel adapter included in a storage apparatus by a high speed network such as a fiber channel (FC: Fibre Channel).
A plurality of server computers and a plurality of storage apparatuses can be coupled by using a switch. In the case in which a plurality of server computers and a plurality of storage apparatuses are coupled, an access control can be carried out by using a zoning technology for limiting a combination of an HBA and a channel adapter of a computer that can be accessed or a LUN masking technology for limiting an HBA of a server computer that can access an LU (Logical Unit) that is provided by a storage apparatus. In the case of an access control, the identification information of an HBA and a WWN (World Wide Name) of a channel adapter is used.
On the other hand, a technology for implementing a plurality of virtual computers on one server computer by using a hypervisor that logically splits a computer resource that includes a CPU, a memory, a LAN adapter, and an HBA and that operates them as an independent virtual computer, and a technology for logically splitting a storage resource that includes a CPU, a disk cache, a channel adapter, and a physical disk on a storage apparatus and for operating them as an independent virtual storage apparatus are known.
Moreover, a technology is known in which an OS (Operating System) and an application program are operated continuously on a virtual computer even in the case in which a physical fault occurs in a server computer by taking over a virtual computer among a plurality of server computers by making a computer system to be redundant in such a manner that a computer resource that is required by a virtual computer can be ensured in advance. The following Patent Citation 1 discloses a technology in which a computer system is made redundant in such a manner that a computer resource that is required by a virtual computer and that includes a storage area that is provided by a storage apparatus can be ensured in advance by previously determining a physical path between a server computer and a storage apparatus that are operated by a hypervisor and a path between a virtual computer and a virtual storage.    [Patent Citation 1]    Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-209487